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Many people hate progress bars. You copy a bunch of files from one hard drive to another. Then you have to wait. And wait. And wait.

However, I love progress bars. How far along is it? I love checking.

Right now I’m moving a website over to a new host. That too, gets a progress bar. 11% done. Five minutes later, it’s at 17%. Moving up! Throughout the day, I’ll check on this progress bar. Every time it’s a little bit higher. You can do it! Keep going!

Your attitude about progress bars might be an indicator on how you view life. Do you want the end goal to arrive as soon as possible? Or are you enjoying the process?

When you get overly fixated on the goal, you become impatient and want things right now. But when you focus on the process, instead of the goal, you can enjoy the moments in life.

Think of progress bars as sporting events. You watch a sport and enjoy the moments of the game. Yeah, you do want the end result of them winning, but you also enjoy the game. You enjoy the process of a game.

The appealing thing about progress bars is that they make progress. Just like with a sporting event, the score steadily increases. Maybe that’s part of why sports are appealing to many people. It draws to a root human desire of progress.

Just remember, don’t get too fixated on the goal. Even in sports. Winning is not everything. Play the game, enjoy the game. Accept whatever results come your way.

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About the author

Hi. I'm Matt Maldre. I've been working in the syndication business for over 17 years. How do we create, read, and share? Honest and bold opinions on publishing and syndication in this weekly blog.
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This makes me feel better about being a generalist. I often yearn to dive really deep into one area, to really master it, and have the sense of accomplishment. But your post here excellently explains the value of being a generalist.